Science Projects/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, is in his kitchen, boiling a pot of water on the stove. A robot, Moby, joins him. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I've heard a watched pot never boils, but this is ridiculous. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I have to do a project for a science fair. Help. From, Freaking Out. Science projects can seem really overwhelming at first, but they're totally manageable if you take them step by step. The first thing you have to do is find a topic, and there are a ton of resources to help you do that. An animation shows four possible sources for science project ideas. The first is a book called Best Science Projects. The second is a newspaper. The third is a book called Science. The fourth is a book with a drawing of an atom on its cover. TIM: But a better way to start might be to ask questions about the things around you. How can I bring that plant back to life? How clean is the water I'm drinking? Can magnets be used to levitate things? Why isn't my water boiling? Images show a dead plant on a windowsill, a clear glass of water, magnets on a refrigerator, and Tim's pot of water on a stove. TIM: Once you figure out the topic you're interested in, you have to narrow it down. My mom always puts salt in the pot when she boils water. Maybe that helps the water boil faster? You should try to turn your topic into a yes-or-no question. Like, will adding salt to the water make it boil faster? The purpose should be a clear statement about what you're trying to figure out. An image shows a chart entitled My Science Project. TIM: The purpose of this experiment is to find out whether adding salt to water will make it boil faster. Text beneath the title of the chart reads: Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to find out whether adding salt to water will make it boil faster. TIM: Next, you have to come up with a hypothesis, a testable explanation for the details you observe. Since my mom does it, I'm going to guess that it does help. Adding salt to water will make the water boil faster. New text on Tim's cart reads: Hypothesis, Adding salt to water will make the water boil faster. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, it should sound familiar. Science projects follow the scientific method. That's the procedure scientists use to find out why things happen the way they do. An animation shows two scientists conducting an experiment in a lab. TIM: You should be able to test your hypothesis by changing just one variable in your experiment. In my case, my variable is the amount of salt in the water. Everything else, the heat, the size and shape of the pots, the amount of water, those should all be the same. Symbols appear that represent heat, a pot, and a small quantity of water. Tim stands at his stove. There are now two pots on the stove. Text on one pot reads: Salt. Text on the other pot reads: No Salt. Tim hums as he and Moby prepare the pots, water, and salt. TIM: On your display, the list of materials you use usually comes next. New text on Tim's My Science Project chart reads: Materials: two identical pots, table salt, water, permanent marker, notebook, pen, timer. TIM: And after that, the procedure section. The procedure clearly describes every step you take, even the most basic ones. New text on Tim's My Science Project chart reads: 1. Fill pots with four cups of water. 2. Add one tablespoon of salt to one pot. 3. Mark kettle with permanent marker. 4. Place each pot over a burner on the stove. 5. Turn both burners on High. 6. Start timer. 7. Record time to boil for each pot. TIM: Hmm. The pot marked No Salt begins to boil. Tim clicks his stopwatch to get a reading of how long it took for the water to boil. He examines the reading. TIM: What? No way. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, it doesn't really matter if your hypothesis is right. The point of doing a science project isn't to get the right answer. It's just to learn something new. The pot marked Salt begins to boil. TIM: And I sure did. When you've finished your experiment, you're ready to write up your results. Often, those take the form of a chart or graph. A new table on the My Science Project chart states that a pot of water with no salt takes one minute to boil, a pot of water with one teaspoon of salt takes one minute and thirty seconds to boil, and a pot with two teaspoons of salt takes two minutes to boil. TIM: After you've got some results, it's time to write your conclusions. New text on Tim's My Science Project chart reads: Conclusions: We learned that adding salt does not make water boil faster. It actually makes it take longer. TIM: The conclusion should make a statement about what you've learned. MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, we did not learn that my mom's a liar. We learned that adding salt does not make water boil faster. It actually makes it take longer. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep. It's a good idea to spend some time on your display. Use a computer to type up your findings and make graphs and charts. Cut with a paper cutter so that your edges are straight. Use colors that make everything stand out, and make sure to include some pictures. An animation shows a sheet of paper coming out of a computer printer. Images show a paper cutter, art supplies, and two pictures of a boiling pot of water. TIM: A nice-looking presentation helps everyone appreciate the results of your hard work. The Conclusions section on Tim's My Science Project chart now contains an illustrated presentation of Tim's experiment, with pictures and text. The scene changes to Tim and Moby seated at the kitchen table. Tim is eating a bowl of spaghetti while Moby looks on, smiling. TIM: It needs some salt. Moby grabs a jar full of salt and dumps it all on Tim's spaghetti. TIM: Maybe, maybe not quite that much salt. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts